FULLERTON, Calif.—Alone and in labor, Jessica Higgins found the first place she could to give birth—her front lawn.

The 36-year-old was driving home from the mall Tuesday when little Mary Claire gave her the shock of a lifetime by deciding to arrive six weeks early.

Higgins—with her 2-year-old son sleeping in the back seat—called 911 as she arrived at her Fullerton home, but she had already pushed her daughter out when police arrived.

“She was just standing in the driveway rocking the newborn, who was still attached to the

placenta,” Officer Manny Ramos said Wednesday.

Higgins’ husband, Jeff, arrived in time to cut the baby’s umbilical cord under the front-yard ficus tree.

The proud mother, who was recovering at a hospital Wednesday, said “everything happened so fast.”

She said she had her son’s portrait taken at the mall earlier in the day and was on hold with the doctor’s office when the baby started pushing.

Mary Claire was born at 5 pounds, 11 ounces and was doing fine at St. Jude Medical Center, Higgins said.